Doctors in the Wedding

by Gina Wilkins

  “Good.” He nipped at her lower lip, then started to settle onto her.

  The buzz of a cell phone interrupted them just as she lifted her knees to welcome him.

  Both of them grumbled in response to the ill-timed interruption, but their years of medical training made it impossible for either to simply ignore the summons. They reached simultaneously for their cell phones before Madison realized it wasn’t her ring tone. Jason leaned over the side of the bed to scoop up his pants and dig his phone out of the pocket. He groaned when he checked the call screen.

  “It’s my youngest sister. Katie.”

  Madison glanced at the clock. It was almost midnight. “You’d better take it,” she said, not even trying to hide her reluctance. “At this hour, something could be wrong.”

  He grimaced. “Katie’s idea of a suitable time for phone calls is somewhat different than most people’s. Not to mention her definition of a crisis.”

  Still, he lifted the phone to his ear, rolling to sit on the side of the bed as he answered. “What’s up, Katie?”

  It was impossible not to overhear his end of the conversation with him sitting inches away from her. Still, she didn’t try to pay attention, merely closing her eyes and letting herself drift in a sensual haze, her limbs pleasantly heavy, her mouth curved in a soft smile.

  She heard little snatches of his words.

  “Can’t you talk to Mom about…?”

  “I’m sure Carly didn’t mean…”

  “If the two of you would just…”

  He sighed heavily. “Okay, fine. I’ll talk to Carly. Maybe I’ll have a chance to call her sometime tomorrow between all this wedding stuff.”

  His voice sharpened only marginally when he spoke again. “I said I’ll talk to her, Katie. Now I really have to go, okay? Good night.”

  Madison heard the buzz of an agitated feminine voice still coming through the phone when he disconnected the call. She opened her eyes. Jason pushed his free hand through his hair when he turned his head to look at her. “Sorry about that.”

  “Not a problem.”

  Perhaps he thought he should explain what he knew she’d overheard. “My sisters are squabbling. Again.”

  “And bringing you into it?”

  He shrugged. “I’m used to it.”

  Her lips curved in response to the resigned look on his face. “The curse of being the firstborn,” she said with a laugh. “I can’t tell you how many times I turned to Meagan—my older sister—to solve problems for me. Especially when it was something I didn’t necessarily want my parents to know about.”

  “The blessing of being the youngest,” he quipped back.

  She slid a hand up his arm and down again, fingertips tracing the muscles beneath his skin. “So, do you want to keep talking about family and careers and other mundane stuff? Or would you rather focus on us and the time we have left together?”

  He tossed his phone aside and stretched out on the bed, reaching for her. “Us,” he said firmly. “Definitely us.”

  Smiling in satisfaction, she wrapped her arms around his neck and snuggled closer to him. “Excellent choice.”

  “I really need to be going.”

  Though she hated to be reminded of anything as mundane as passing time during this magical night, Madison glanced at the luminous red digits on the bedside clock. 2:00 a.m. She sighed reluctantly. “I suppose you should.”

  Propped on one elbow beside her, Jason stroked a strand of hair from her warm cheek. “I’ll leave very discreetly. You won’t have to worry about anyone seeing me slip out.”

  She laughed softly. “Now you sound like a P.I. Or a cat burglar.”

  Jason’s chuckle rumbled in his chest. “Nah. My dad and some of my other relatives are the P.I.s. Usually—when I’m not seducing beautiful women in my role as a daring adventurer, of course—I’m just a simple family doc.”

  She was both flattered by being called beautiful, even teasingly, and intrigued by this new glimpse into his family, despite her reluctance earlier to talk about their real lives. “Seriously? Your dad is a private investigator?”

  “BiBi didn’t mention that, I take it?”

  “I think I remember her talking about family friends who owned an investigation agency. I guess she meant your family.”

  “Yeah. My dad started the agency almost thirty years ago. Two of Mom’s brothers joined him in it a couple years later. Now it’s a fairly large investigation and security firm located here in Dallas with a branch in Houston. A few of my cousins work for Dee-Dub in various capacities, and my younger brother plans to work there as soon as he gets his bachelor’s degree next year. He didn’t actually want to go to college, hoping he could just go straight into the agency, but Mom and Dad insisted he get the degree first.”

  “Dee-Dub?” she repeated, wondering if she’d heard him correctly.

  His lips twitched. “The D’Alessandro-Walker Agency. Dee-Dub for short, to the family.”

  “Ah. Sounds much less impressive that way.”

  He nodded. “Which is why we keep the nickname in the family.”

  “How did your dad feel about you going into medicine instead of following in his footsteps?”

  Jason shrugged. “My folks have never really cared what careers we chose as long as we did our best in whatever field we entered. Laziness or mediocrity were not options in our family of overachievers.”

  “So you chose medicine on your own.”

  “It seemed to suit me. What about you?”

  “I sort of followed my older siblings into it. Both of them are surgeons. I wouldn’t say I was pressured into medicine, but it was strongly suggested as a practical and worthwhile career. So—I chose what some consider one of the least practical aspects of medicine. Psychiatry. Oddly enough, no one seemed startled by my choice.”

  “No one was surprised that I went into family practice, either,” he admitted somewhat ruefully. “As Carly said, it was just the field a ‘compulsive caregiver’ like me would be expected to enter.”

  “A compulsive caregiver. Is that what you are?” She knew that other people saw him that way; was that the way he viewed himself?

  “I guess,” he said after a momentary hesitation. “It seems to be a role I was born into.”

  “Do you ever feel like telling everyone to take care of themselves and running off to do something wild and crazy?”

  He laughed softly in response to her question. “Often. But I know I won’t. My life is here. My heart is here with my family and my patients. Guess I’m just not really the dashing, adventurous type.”

  “Oh, I don’t know.” She walked her fingers up his chest, giving him a look from beneath flirtatiously lowered lashes. “I’d say you were fairly adventurous tonight.”

  He grinned and leaned down to kiss her. “Like I’ve said, I’m different with you. And I’ve enjoyed every minute of it.”

  He seemed to view her as an anomaly in his usual life—a vacation, of sorts, from the expectations of everyone else. She could live with that, she thought with a private smile. If Jason remembered her with fond smiles and maybe a little gratitude for the welcome break from his routines, she would consider their brief time together well spent.

  There were many more things she would have liked to know about him. More details about his family, his practice, his hobbies, his plans and dreams for the future…but those were all the sort of questions that would come up between people who were getting to know each other with the possibility of continuing their relationship. The type of real-life information that would take some of the mystery and fantasy out of the time they’d spent together thus far and any discreet encounters they might have during the next two days, if opportunity presented itself. She suspected that Jason would prefer
to leave those ordinary details unspoken, their whimsical charades intact.

  “You should leave now, Dr. Jones,” she murmured in “Esmeralda’s” sultry voice. “It could be dangerous for you to be discovered here at sunrise.”

  His grin flashed white in the shadowy room, validating the choice she had made. “A kiss for luck before I go?”

  Burying her fingers in his hair, she pulled his head down for a kiss that nearly singed the pillows beneath them. She felt his heart pounding against her when he lifted his head and said somewhat hoarsely, “Sunrise is still a few hours away.”

  As much as she would have liked for him to stay, she pressed her hands against his chest and gave a little push. They both needed rest if they were going to function coherently the next day. And besides, it really would be better if he slipped out without being seen. “Sorry. Time to go.”

  He sighed heavily, but reached for his clothes without further procrastination. She tied her short robe loosely around her to walk him to the door so she could bolt the lock behind him. He stole one more kiss before opening the door, then drew a deep breath and glanced carefully out into the deserted hallway. “Sleep well,” he whispered as he slipped out.

  “Oh, I will,” she assured him with a smile before closing the door and securing the lock.

  She predicted very pleasant, if decidedly erotic dreams for what remained of that night.

  What was left of the night passed all too quickly. Madison woke reluctantly when her cell phone alarm buzzed. As much as she would have loved to burrow into the Jason-scented pillows and snooze a while longer, she knew better than to be late for the bridesmaids’ breakfast BiBi had scheduled to start this day. The breakfast would be followed by a visit to the hotel spa, a yoga class and a ladies’ luncheon before the wedding rehearsal during the afternoon. After the rehearsal, two hours had been left free for everyone to change for a semiformal rehearsal dinner, followed by another dance, though this one would be much more genteel and sedate than the rowdy costume party Thursday night.

  The groom’s parents were hosting the postrehearsal festivities. BiBi had confided to Madison that it would probably be rather stuffy, but BiBi was leaving all the arrangements to her future mother-in-law for this part of the weekend, at least. No need to get off on the wrong foot with the woman even before the wedding, BiBi had added with a laugh. Very little about the day sounded like Madison’s idea of fun. She’d never particularly enjoyed being pampered in a spa, wedding rehearsals were notoriously dull, formal dinners tended to be stilted and uncomfortable, and the dance would be equally awkward if her every move was watched by BiBi and Corinna whenever Jason was in the vicinity.

  Reaching into the closet for the skirt and blouse she’d brought to wear to the breakfast, she shook her head. She would be changing at least three more times that day. She’d packed as light as she could, but BiBi’s numerous plans had required a rather extensive wardrobe selection. It was no wonder she’d had no room to bring her own costume for the first night’s party.

  She spent a little extra time in the shower, letting the hot water soothe muscles that ached a bit from yesterday’s activities—both daytime and nighttime. She didn’t regret any of them. She hummed as she donned the red top and black-and-white-print skirt, then brushed her hair to a soft sheen. Suddenly realizing that she was humming “Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered,” she set down her brush and shook her head with a stern warning to herself. She had two more days to get through without upsetting BiBi and Corinna. Floating around with a sappy smile on her face and humming romantic songs was hardly the way to keep them from becoming suspicious.

  Now if only she and Jason could pretend in front of the others that nothing had happened between them. She didn’t like this feeling of slipping around, she thought as she tucked her key card into a small bag and headed for the elevator. Still, even if the awkward situation with Corinna hadn’t been an issue, she would have chosen to keep her time with Jason private. It wasn’t her style to flaunt her dalliances. All too familiar with wedding drama, she wouldn’t have risked taking any of the spotlight off the bride with an open flirtation that would have been bound to stir gossip and speculation. But maybe she wouldn’t have felt as much pressure to pretty much avoid Jason altogether when others were around.

  That was going to be difficult.

  BiBi stood at the door of the lovely glass-walled garden room where the bridesmaids’ breakfast was being held a short while later. She greeted each of her friends with air kisses and hand squeezes. BiBi was smiling, but Madison thought she detected a faint edge of tension beneath her friend’s deliberately cheery behavior. Was all the stress of the busy wedding weekend beginning to wear on BiBi? Madison had been concerned all along that BiBi had tried to cram too many activities into too few days.

  BiBi’s glossy lips brushed just over Madison’s cheeks. “I can tell you slept well. You look rested and refreshed.”

  Thinking of the three hours or so of sleep she’d managed, Madison merely smiled. It wasn’t sleep that had left her glowing this morning. “You look great, yourself. Love that top.”

  BiBi glanced down at the glittering, draped-neck blouse she wore with black pants. “You know I can never resist purple or sparkles.”

  “Well, it looks lovely on you. So, how are you holding up? Is everything going okay?”

  BiBi hesitated only a moment before giving a little shrug. “There are a few last-minute complications in the arrangements. Things that shouldn’t have cropped up because I’ve been planning and organizing everything for months, so you’d have thought everyone would know by now exactly what they’re supposed to…”

  She stopped and drew a deep breath, then shook her head in determination. “But I’m not going to worry about those things just now. First I’m going to enjoy this breakfast. Go, sit. They’ll be serving mimosas in a few minutes and Corinna wants to start things off with a toast.”

  Because this was an intimate breakfast with only ten guests—the bride, her six bridesmaids, her mother and future mother-in-law, and the five-year-old flower girl, who was the daughter of one of the bridesmaids—one large, round table had been set to accommodate them. Bouquets of white and deep purple roses decorated the center, sitting low enough to allow guests to see across the table. Silver place-card holders sat on the snowy tablecloth next to settings of fine white china and gleaming silverware. Madison was almost resigned to find that she was seated to the right of Corinna, whose mother, Tina Lovato, sat on Corinna’s left.

  Madison forced a big smile as she slipped into her chair, nodding to those already seated, who greeted her with smiles and a chorus of “good mornings.” She was one of the last to arrive, even though she wasn’t late.

  She glanced to her left. “Good morning, Corinna.”

  “Good morning.”

  Madison couldn’t tell any difference in Corinna’s manner toward her, so if Corinna was still unsettled because Madison and Jason had delivered a baby together, she wasn’t letting it show.

  Might as well just get it out in the open. “Has anyone heard from Lila and Tommy this morning?”

  “BiBi told me that Carl talked to Tommy first thing this morning,” Corinna replied. “Tommy said to tell everyone that both Lila and the baby are doing well. They’re going to stay another night in the hospital, then Tommy’s taking them straight home to Houston. They’ll miss the wedding, of course.”

  “It was ridiculous for them to come this weekend with a baby due so soon,” Tina Lovato, mother of the bride, commented with a disapproving frown. “They’re just lucky everything turned out well.”

  “Her baby wasn’t actually due for another month,” Deidre Burleson, mother of the groom, countered quickly, as if taking the other woman’s words as a criticism of her son’s choice of an usher. “They had no idea, of course, that the baby would come early, or I’
m sure they never would have tried to be here.”

  “It still seems reckless to me,” Tina insisted. “I know I never would have attempted a trip like that when I was expecting my girls. And now we’re short an usher for the wedding.”

  Deidre shook her head insistently. “It’s only a little over four hours’ drive from here to Houston, not such a long trip. And Carl has already taken care of filling in Tommy’s duties. Justin D’Alessandro—Jason’s younger brother—is going to serve as an usher. He agreed this morning.”

  Seated beside Deidre, Hannah spoke up. “Lila was so fortunate to have not one, but two doctors to help deliver her baby. Madison and Jason worked so well together to take care of her.”

  Madison hoped the comment was innocently intended and not a deliberate attempt to stir a little friction between herself and Corinna. Madison was beginning to think Hannah rather enjoyed drama. To give Corinna credit, she merely nodded and said, “Yes, they did. Lila and Tommy were very grateful.”

  Madison shrugged self-deprecatingly. “We just did what we were trained to do in med school. I’m glad I was there to help. So, wasn’t yesterday fun? I had a great time at the ranch. It’s been ages since I was on horseback.”

  Angie Chen, a bridesmaid and friend of BiBi’s from work, giggled. “The last time I was on horseback was a pony ride at a friend’s tenth birthday party. I felt so awkward yesterday. But Corinna, you were great. I saw you win the barrel race. Wow.”

  Visibly pleased, Corinna smiled. “Thanks, Angie. I got lucky.”

  Toni Blanchard, Corinna’s stiffest competition in the race, grumbled good naturedly. “She got lucky because I got a slower horse. If I’d had my Samson with me, you’d never have gotten near my time, Corinna.”

  “I’m sure you’re right,” Corinna agreed, then dimpled mischievously. “But then again, maybe I still would have won. I was in the zone yesterday.”